Aston Villa had a phenomenal 2023, to say the least.
Unai Emery has simply transformed his Aston Villa side into one of the most feared competitors in the entirety of the Premier League.
The manager and his coaching staff have been working hard at Bodymoor Heath all year long to mould players like Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey into absolute world-beaters. They’ve been sensational.
This is why it comes as a shock to Aston Villa fans that not a single one was included in the Sky Sports pundit team Premier League XI of the season so far.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville pick zero Aston Villa players
As 2023 closed, January 2024 signals nearly the midway point of the Premier League season.
Because of this, during Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football coverage, pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were tasked with picking their Premier League best XI of the season so far.
Despite Aston Villa’s phenomenal season, remarkably no Villa players were included. The two squads can be seen below.
Jamie Carragher does include one Aston Villa man…
Despite no players making the cut, the former Liverpool centre-half did include one Villa man for his heroics so far.
Carragher confirmed via X that his manager of the season so far has to be Unai Emery. This does soften the blow a little, but Villa fans were still in an uproar.
Aston Villa fans outraged…
Villa fans were understandably upset. They have been dominant all season, and currently sit in second place in the league. They made their feelings known under Carragher’s post:
One said: ‘No villa player is criminal. Doesn’t make it better that you have Unai as the manager that should be a given.’
Another fumes: ‘Not a single Villa player in either squad, am I surprised? Of course not!! How Ollie doesn’t get in is beyond me, but let the media continue to downplay Villa and we will continue to do what we’ve been doing for the past 12 months.’
‘Brother names Unai Emery as the manager and goes on to choose none of his players,’ another laughs.
A final adds: ‘You and Gary didn’t choose a single Villa player while we are sat in 2nd place???’
They all have very fair points. Villa have been class this year, and at least one first-team squad member should be featured.
